Civil Engineers Release South Carolina’s State Infrastructure Report

9/8/2021

The South Carolina Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2021 Report Card for South Carolina’s Infrastructure. South Carolina civil engineers gave eight categories of infrastructure an overall grade of a ‘D+,’ meaning the state’s infrastructure is in subpar condition and in need of attention.

“South Carolina’s agencies and leaders have taken matters into their own hands to ensure our network of infrastructure systems are suitable for a 21^st century economy and expanding demographic,” said Jonathan Thrasher, P.E. and co-chair for the 2021 Report Card for South Carolina’s Infrastructure. “Now it is time for the federal government to do its part in aiding our communities with the necessary funding to bring all of our systems to a state of good repair.”

The state’s dams, drinking water and wastewater systems have undergone significant upgrades in recent years, with projects being completed or developed so rapidly that the publicly available data has not yet caught up to reflect the level of expansion and modernization each system has undergone.

Despite these improvements, each water infrastructure sector faces significant challenges from severe storms and decades of underinvestment, along with increased demand stemming from a booming population. Drinking water (D+) and wastewater (D) face an estimated $6.1 billion in needs over the next 20 years according to the EPA, and both systems are aging beyond their intended design life.

However, municipalities are in the process of updating aging systems with capital improvement projects. The Charleston Water System is expanding and refurbishing the Plum Island Wastewater treatment plant with new pump stations, while West Columbia is undergoing a water treatment plant expansion to better serve a growing population.

The Report Card was created as a public service to citizens and policymakers to inform them of the infrastructure needs in their state. Civil engineers used their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of South Carolina’s infrastructure network. ASCE State and Regional Infrastructure Report Cards are modeled after the national Infrastructure Report Card, which gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of ‘C-’ in 2021.

For the full report, visit https://infrastructurereportcard.org/south-carolina/.